Zalmon Richards, ex-Superintendent of Public Schools, Washington, D. C.

Hon. Andrew J. Rickoff, Superintendent of City Schools, Yonkers, N. Y.

Rev. L. L. Russell, Alabama.

Hon. William E. Sheldon, of the Journal of Education, Boston, Mass. Hon. Hubert M. Skinner, Deputy State Superintendent, Indianapolis, Ind.

Miss Linda Slaughter, Bismarck, Dak.

Hon. R. W. Stevenson, Superintendent of Public Schools, Columbus, Ohio.

Hon. Albert S. Willis, M. C., Kentucky.

Hon. J. Ormond Wilson, ex-Superintendent of City Schools, Washington, D. C.

Hon. Henry A. Wise, ex-Superintendent of City Schools, Baltimore, Md.

Hon. Charles S. Young, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Carson City, Nev.

PRELIMINARY SESSION.

Tuesday Evening, February 23, 1886.

A preliminary meeting of the members of the Department of Superintendence was held in the red parlor of the Ebbitt House at 8 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of arranging for the sessions to be held the subsequent days, pursuant to adjournment of the National Educational Association held at Saratoga, N. Y., July, 1885.

Hon. WARREN EASTON, State Superintendent of Education for Louisiana, president, called the meeting to order, with Hon. C. C. DAVIDSON, Superintendent of Alliance (Ohio) Public Schools, as secretary.

On motion, the following were appointed a committee to arrange the subsequent sessions of the Department: Messrs. W. B. Powell, of Washington, D. C., N. C. Dougherty, of Peoria, Ill., and J. A. B. Lovett, of Alabama.

The committee recommended that the morning sessions open at 10 A. M. and close at 2 P. M., and that the evening sessions open at 8 P. M. and close at 10 P. M.

On motion, the report was adopted.

The Department then adjourned to meet in All Souls' Church on the following morning.

SECOND SESSION.

Wednesday Morning, February 24, 1886.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. EASTON, president, and was opened by prayer by D. L. KIEHLE, of Wisconsin.

Mr. W. B. POWELL, Superintendent of Schools of Washington, delivered the following

ADDRESS OF WELCOME.

To many of those present a welcome to Washington is not a new thing, as they have attended these meetings for many years. This is a matter of congratulation-congratulation on the evident permanence in office of those, at least, who are engaged in this branch of educa tional work; congratulation, further, on the augury it offers that the tenure of those engaged in other brauches of education will become more secure; in the past the uncertainty of tenure has caused much waste and much injury to the efficiency of the school service in many places, especially in smaller cities and rural districts.

Mr. Powell also spoke briefly of the various fields of labor opening out before the Department.

Mr. EASTON, the president, acknowledged the welcome extended to the Department, and announced the same to be open for regular busi

ness.

On motion of Mr. SHELDON, of Massachusetts, a committee was ap pointed to draft resolutions in memory of the late Hon. John D. Philbrick, of Massachusetts, for many years one of the most active members of the Department.

Hon. M. A. NEWELL, of Maryland, then read a paper on "School Superintendence a Profession." He claimed that the province of the superintendent is such as to warrant the consideration of school superintendence as a profession as honorable as that of the law or of medi cine. Labor must be specialized before it can be organized. It re-, quires special fitness, the result of natural ability aided by education and experience, to become an efficient superintendent. Therefore there should be a guild equally as honorable and distinct as in any other profession. Mr. Newell urged the formation of a department in normal schools and colleges, for the special purpose of training superintendents. The reading of the paper was followed by some remarks by Dr. W. A. MOWRY, of Massachusetts, who agreed that supervision should be recognized as one of the things to be studied in normal schools as a distinct profession. The times demanded the highest order of talent for this department of school work.

Hon. D. L. KIEHLE, of Minnesota, then read the following paper:

THE DUTIES OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.

The duties of the county superintendent, which are to be here consid ered, are the duties of opportunity and responsibility. I shall, then, inquire what a competent man may do in a position which relates him authoritatively as well as professionally to teachers and the people, presuming without argument that what he may do it is his duty to do. Respecting the importance of this position, whatever may have been proven confirming the theory of evolution that there is in the individual a native internal energy ever pushing outward and upward as the essential element in development, it is also true that the power which quickens and directs all intellectual and spiritual life is from above; that the improvement of the race has been from the top downward; that the wisdom and goodness of the world have radiated from the lives of the choice few downward among the masses, so that the shadows have been gradually driven down the mountain sides by the growing light above, and to-day the morning twilight covers the earth.

Now there have been and are men who occupy by nature this preeminence of intellectual and moral leadership; and there are others who by the formal expression of the popular will are assigned officially to this position of pre-eminence in which their opportunity defines their duties, and the interests to which the position is related become grave responsibilities.

To this class belong superintendents of education, whether of State, city, or county.

Of the several parts of our educational problem, there is good reason for saying that that of the common school of the country is still unsolved. The city and town feel the full influence of the thought and spirit of the age; are perfecting their plans of organization, supervi sion, and instruction; command the services of the best teachers; and give them the most improved apparatus and conveniences for instruction. But our country schools are about where they were a quarter of a century ago.

The conditions peculiar to country life-the people separated from each other, and unaccustomed to the methods, compromises, dependent conditions, and supervisions which characterize life in cities-almost exclude the improvements which belong to the age.

Country children are still in the traditional white or red school-house of the old pattern, taught by teachers young and without experience, for short terms, without books of general information or apparatus. Some of these conditions are constant, others are variable, and the unsolved problem is, How much may be done under all the circumstances? I am of the opinion that the question of the common school is inseparably bound up with and in that of the superintendency of these schools, or that of the county superintendency, for I am not aware that

there is any other plan by which these schools may receive the exclusive attention and care of a capable person.

The position of a county superintendent of schools under our elective system is peculiarly embarrassing and difficult. It is both political and professional. Elected by the people, he must satisfy the people, else he will not be allowed to serve them at all. In many political offices nothing more is required than to represent the average sentiment or policy of the masses; but in education the superintendent who does no more than this will soon pass over from the ranks of the profession to those of the politician. The superintendent who is to be an educator must do the difficult thing of keeping near the people and holding their confidence, and at the same time represent, in his plans and policy, the intelligence, character, and experience of his profession. He must often exclude from the corps of teachers the friends and relatives of men whose political or social influence might threaten his position. He must introduce and urge improvements and reforms that are quite beyond the present appreciation of many of his constituents.

And yet, difficult as this may seem, there is no other way so honorable, so self-satisfying, and in the long run none so safe. For, uninformed or ignorant as these people may be of theories of education, you must remember that they are fathers and mothers, and that the superintendent who, by his devotion to the interests of their children, proves that he is wisely studying their advancement, will find that the heart and confidence of the parent are a more reliable support than the self-interest of the politician.

I have said that the position of county superintendent of schools is difficult, but I must not forget to say that he is given great authority. He is, in short, the educational autocrat of the county. He has entire control of the teaching force of his county, with power to legally qual ify and power to discharge for cause. His invitations to attend meetings and institutes of teachers are in effect mandatory, and his sugges tions have the force of instructions to be observed. It is not unreasonable, then, that a county superintendent should be held responsible for important results in the advancement of education among the people he has engaged to serve.

Stating the duties of a county superintendent in a general way, he should be the medium of communication between his schools and the educational world. He should therefore know where the world is in his thought, in the solution of its problems, and what results of study and experience in improved methods and appliances of instruction are available for the use of his own schools. He should make it his study how to disseminate this knowledge among the people who can utilize it, but who, by reason of their circumstances, would otherwise continue in ignorance.

I come now to consider in detail the duties of the county superintendent.

The teacher is the sine qua non, and having the teacher, the school will in good time have all else needful. The housewife said that the introduction of the new and beautiful sofa had given her a new and newly furnished house in place of the old; and more surely will the introduction of a good teacher into a worn-out district be the begining of a renovation, not to end till the last cobweb of antiquated and obstructive trash has been removed.

The supply of capable teachers includes two distinct processes: First, the exclusion of the incapable, under the general law, I suppose, that "nature abhors a vacuum;" and if the incompetent can be kept out, the competent will come in. I must not take the space of this paper in noting the details of this important duty. I can only say here that it is of the first importance; that, this duty being neglected, the ranks are filled with incompetence, which destroys the demand for good teachers, and with persons who neither do anything nor give promise of improvement.

The second step in the supply of teachers is the positive one of selec tion, by the careful examination and certificating of those who give proof of ability and skill. The superintendent who is most successful in this must do it by a sort of common sense or instinctive judgment, based upon the facts to be known concerning the applicant as a man of character, as a scholar with requisite knowledge, and as a teacher with a proper theoretical understanding of the principles of school management and instruction, and sufficient practical skill to secure the required results.

The next duty of the superintendent respecting his teachers is the improvement of them. He should not stand by critically to observe and to pronounce judgment, but having chosen those who deserve his confidence and support, he should, by the means within his control, help them to success, and to be of the greatest influence in improving their schools.

This duty is discharged in three parts or ways. First, by the county teachers' institute, which should be held annually for the discussion of general principles and methods that obtain in the theory and practice of teaching. In these institutes he will have the assistance of instructors of skill and experience. Here teachers should gain fresh inspiration and broader views of their work. Here new problems and new lines of thought and study should be presented, and old truths should be brightened by the skill of discussion.

The second way is by holding local or neighborhood associations, for the discussion and illustration of the more detailed work of the schoolThese meetings, under the direction of the superintendent, should be supported in the programme by the teachers themselves. Here may be continued the discussion of questions introduced at the county institute. Here teachers will report the results of their own experience, and will illustrate their plans by exercises with their classes;